shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileMontana

in the Bitterroot Valley, below the Como Peaks

Lake Como Bitterroot

Name: Lake Como Bitterroot — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— — the lake the granite folds around.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.

— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand

— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines

— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall

— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround

— a note from the studio

“A long reservoir in the Bitterroot National Forest, about four miles west of Darby. The Como Peaks rise straight off the south shore in raw granite. A seven-mile trail loops the water through pine and meadow. Sailboats hold the upper basin in July. The light moves down the cliff line late in the day.

from the studio

— bring it home

Lake Como Bitterroot, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?

One tile — square or rectangle.

How big?

the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand

6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb

Surface finish

A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.

How it sits

A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.

$58

Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.

— size

6 × 6 in

15 cm

— weighs

1.6 lb

solid in the hand

— surface

ceramic, hand-finished

art rests beneath a thin glossy finish

— from

Knoxville, TN

our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies

— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Lake Como Bitterroot

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.

— the place

Lake Como sits at 4,242 feet in the Bitterroot National Forest, four miles west of Darby in Ravalli County, Montana. The reservoir was built in 1910 by the Bitter Root Valley Irrigation Company to water orchards in the valley below. It now serves the Lake Como Unit of the federal Bitter Root Project. The lake stretches roughly three miles end to end, fed by Rock Creek out of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. The Como Peaks rise above the south shore, the highest exceeding 9,300 feet.

— informed by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation — Bitter Root Project

— the stone

The Como Peaks are part of the Bitterroot Range, a fault-block escarpment of Idaho Batholith granite uplifted along the Bitterroot detachment fault. The granite is roughly 70 to 100 million years old, exposed by Tertiary extension that dropped the Bitterroot Valley as the range rose. Glaciers shaped the cirques and U-shaped drainages on the east face during the Pleistocene. The result is a wall of pale grey granite that drops nearly five thousand feet from summit to lake in less than two horizontal miles.

— informed by Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology

— the visit

The Lake Como Recreation Area, managed by the Bitterroot National Forest, has a developed campground, a swim beach with a small bay protected from the main wind line, a boat launch, and the seven-mile Lake Como National Recreation Trail that loops the water. A small day-use fee applies. The road in is paved and open year-round; the campground runs late May through September. Sailboats and small motorboats are common in July; the upper basin runs quieter and is favoured by paddlers.

— informed by USDA Forest Service — Bitterroot National Forest

— where

United States · Ravalli County, Montana

— within

Bitterroot National Forest

— elevation

1,293 m · 4,242 ft

— position

46.0700° N · 114.2300° W

— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.

6 km E

Darby

Bitterroot town

3 km S

Como Peaks

granite summits

5 km W

Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness

wilderness area

25 km N

Hamilton

Ravalli County seat

Lake Como Bitterroot

Darby

Como Peaks

Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness

Hamilton

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Lake Como Bitterroot — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

About four miles west of Darby in the Bitterroot Valley of western Montana. It sits at 4,242 feet in the Bitterroot National Forest, below the Como Peaks of the Bitterroot Range.

No. It is a reservoir built in 1910 by the Bitter Root Valley Irrigation Company to water orchards in the valley. The underlying basin is glacial; the dam raised the water level.

The Lake Como National Recreation Trail loops the reservoir for about seven miles through ponderosa pine and granite outcrop. It is mostly level and is open to hikers, bikers, and horses.

Yes. A developed swim beach sits at the east end and a boat launch handles trailered craft. Sailboats are common in summer; the upper basin runs quieter and is favoured by paddlers.

The Como Peaks, a cluster of Idaho Batholith granite summits in the Bitterroot Range. The high points exceed 9,300 feet, rising nearly five thousand feet above the water in under two horizontal miles.

June through September. The Forest Service campground runs late May into September; the road remains open year-round. October light on the granite is exceptional after the crowds thin.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Lake Como is a landmark for valley residents from Hamilton south to Sula. A Small or Medium reads well for someone who grew up here; a Coaster Set carries the place into a kitchen.

The granite greys and pine greens settle into Mountain-modern, alpine-modern, and Cabin-craft interiors. The blues of the water hold against oiled wood and brushed steel.

The piece fits the current alpine-modern direction toward named, specific lakes and ranges over generic mountain silhouettes. It reads as one place, not as Western stock art.

A single Large carries an average sofa wall. A four-tile Mural fits a longer console or wider sofa. A nine-tile Mural anchors a great room or stairwell wall.

Yes. Order Dura Satin or Matte for any vertical install with steam or splash exposure. The colour is in the ceramic surface, not on top of it.

Microfibre cloth and water. Skip abrasive cleaners. The finish is scratch-resistant in Dura Satin and Matte.

Yes. Reid Wender curates and finishes every WenderVista piece in-house in Knoxville, Tennessee. No licensing, no resold prints.

— if this one stayed with you